Unexpected Friendship
by Jeneral2885
Summary: During Lieutenant Singer's pregnancy, she was torn between keeping or aborting the child. Seeking someone, she meets another person instead.
1. Chapter 1

_This JAG story takes place after the episode the Killer. In this AU, Harm has returned from Italy but Singer never up with him at Benzingers._

_I do not know about the complications of pregnant woman. Please PM me if you do know._

**Somewhere in Northwest Washington DC**

**1600 local**

"Bleagh! Bleagh!" I puked for the umpteenth time that day. Despite the several cans of air fresheners I had sprayed through the apartment, the smell of vomit was still distinct through the whole place. Thank goodness my roommate was overseas for work.

Tossing the filled plastic bag in the trash can, I stared at myself in the room mirror. Pregnancy is life's torture for all female human beings. My once well shaped figure appeared twisted. The bulge around my torso looked more like a growing mosquito bite. My breasts were now bulging pass their normal size. That meant buying new bras but I never bother with that yet. What else? I was fat all in other areas all over. Super duper yucks.

Why did I commit myself to this? I mentioned out loud that I was going for an abortion! I said that to Commander Rabb when we left the Seahawk, I said that to those who bothered listen at JAG HQ, I said that to others? Who was it, yes, that bitchy Harriet Sims, the pro-life administrative head. "Having a child is a gift…I know what is like to lose a child." Bloody hell, she and that rolly polly Bud probably screwed day and night! Of course she would say such fairy tale stuff like that! But I never listened to that whiny short hair blonde at all. Especially after her son called me a "wicked witch"? Why am I keeping this child? Why didn't I have an abortion immediately after I returned? There are local doctors who would do it safely and keeping it a secret. No anti-abortion groups in the DC and Virginia area, yet. Why am I keeping this thing that I never wanted!

Not that anyone would listen. Mom and Dad both of them were divorced and never cared for me at all. My brother, I don't even want to call him my brother; more like a drunken retard. Other relatives did not know and won't be supportive at all anyway. Friends? What friends do I have? Everyone at JAG is a competitor or someone to easily to knock down. Even Admiral Chegwidden, who had so kindly approved this leave for me. Outside of JAG, there's no one at all. Rabb's brother Sergei? I don't even know how to contact him and have never dialled an overseas number by myself—enlisted assistants would do that for me. Who is there!

**The next day**

**1900 local**

"Zzzz, Zzzz". I press the buzzer several times. My legs probably echo the sound of the buzzer that I pressed. They were shuffling both from the coldness of the evening and the trepidation of the moment. Would he see me?It was five minutes but seemed like fifty later when the latch opened and instead of the six foot four tall person I expected it was quite the opposite. It was a brunette an inch or so shorter than me, dressed in a purple sleeveless top.

"Oh!" I exclaimed then stood there momentarily. "I'm sorry, I was expecting Commander…"

"Rabb? He's away visiting his mother in California. Oh's my name is Elizabeth, I was his RIO…"

"Oh yes I remember the Commander defended you in a court martial…" And I wanted to help him with that but he refused.

"Yes…well may I ask what you wish to see the Commander for?"

"Um…no, sorry. No trouble. Have a good day." I didn't want to disturb the close friend of Rabb's or let her know about my situation.

"Hey…um, Loren right?…wait up….Loren…" I chose the stairs instead of the lift.

"Wait up," I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Turning around, I started to protest when she said, "It's raining cats and dogs out there. Unless you have an umbrella…"

I don't but should I lie?

"What do you want?" Back to my usual haughty self.

"You could come in. Harm allowed me to use his coffee machine and there's tea..."

"Oh…." Suddenly I felt nauseous and my legs gave way. I fell but hands reached out and grab my bare arms. "Easy there," I head the brunette say. That was probably the last words as I blanked out.

I felt some pungent smell and had to shake my head several times, trying to shake away the smell. "Asian herbal salts," I her a voice say.

I then realised that I was lying flat down. My coat had been removed and my blouse was undone, well not all the way but just enough to expose my tight bra. My skirt felt loosened as well. The face of the short brunette came into full view.

"Hi, hope you're ok now." Her voice said.

I got up. "Yes, I think I can manage myself now." I start to move when I saw her hand touch my shoulder again.

"It's a thunderstorm out there, and you don't have an umbrella. Sorry, I looked through your bag."

"Who gave you the right? I'll be going now, thank you very much." How dare she…

"Loren," My first name again. "Stay."

"N…"

"You came here to see Harm right?"

"Ye..No.."

"Harm mentioned about you. Look, I know you're pregnant and it's not a planned…"

"Look, Elizabeth right? I made a mistake coming here. I thank you for reviving me but…"

"But you don't know what to do now right? You're torn between abortion and keeping the baby? You don't know what to do with the child?"

"I don't know what to do about anything now damnit! I've never known what to do since I was give this damnation of a…." I suddenly broke down crying, tears streaming down my face. Me, Loren Singer, crying in front of another person, a stranger?

"Loren," She gently sat me down although again I half did not want to. "We've all had our troubles and terrible times. I was a wild child growing up. My siblings were always were smarter than me in school and won more competitions than me. I was a loner in class and my neighbourhood."

"At least you had a family!", I retorted. "I never had one. My parents divorced when I barely learnt my ABCs. I didn't know who I was living with since both of them continued to fight over me. My brother was a reject and was in juvenile too many times to count. He's a drunkard and I still don't know where he is now. Somehow I managed to falsify my records to make me look good enough for college then law school. That reduced my bank account to zero. Then I heard about JAG and wanted to become…" I coughed and found my eyes teared up again, from the pain of recounting my life story.

"The first female head JAG?"

I stopped and stared at her. "Did Commander Rabb tell you?"

"I kinda of guessed once I heard about you."

Wow, word gets around. I changed tack. "Don't you want to excell in the Navy? You're a RIO right? Don't you want to be the first female CO or CAG?"

"I do want to progress upwards but sometimes Loren, it's our ambitions that sinks us."

"I've heard that talk before!" I snapped back agin at her then suddenly felt a headache. Bloody Hell!

"Ow..." I rubbed my forehead.

"Hold on," I heard her say then saw her extract some kind of ointment and rub it on that same spot. To my surprise, eased the pain. Shaking my head, I asked again, "Why do to care for me? You don't even know me well, you don't even work with me." I got up but the headache was still there.

"Sometimes, there's someone to look out for you. You're right; I don't know you. Still, I want you to know that I feel your anguish."

I glanced away and stared at the rest of the neatly laid out apartment of Rabb's, wondering how he managed to turn a loft into such a nice layout. "Have you ever been pregnant? Without anyone to care for you?" I raised my voice in the last few words.

"I've not but I know what it means to feel helpless and I know about unmarried pregnant girls."

"Then…." I felt a little breathless and panted. As if on cue, she reached behind my back and unclipped my bra. If it was a guy who was doing that, I would have immediately slapped the person's face.

"Many of the female pilots and RIOs had more than just one stands while on liberty at ports. Several ended their naval careers while some managed to move on."

"I've heard all the debates about abortion and keeping the unborn…"

"Loren, I guessed you have. You just need someone to run to."

"You…do…You're kind," I said. What?! I've never used that word before in my life! What the…but this girl was different from the others I've met.

"I've some left over vegetable soup from lunch, would you like bowl?"

"I…" but she moved off towards the kitchen area. I got up, steadying myself and followed her. There's something about this officer that I like but I just couldn't place it.

I saw her lighting the stove and busying herself with a cutlery so I stole a look around the apartment, Rabb's apartment I reminded myself. It didn't need much of a lawyer's investigative powers to know why this girl was at his apartment. They're in love. Especially from what I heard she did to him while he was in stage four hypothermia. I just wish I had someone like that to watch my six. Moving slowly around, I noticed Elizabeth's or Hawke's dress blues hung up on the wall. Her "fruit salad" caught my eye: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal and Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Not forgetting the NFO insignia. All I have were only two of them. I was suppose to receive the Sea Service Medal and even the War on Terrorism Service Medal , but not so, especially because of that Captain Johnson. What struck me most was the two and a half bars donned on both shoulders. Darn it: She outranks me!

"You made Lieutenant Commander?!" My tone indicated both jealousy and a congratulatory one. "That's so great, ma'am!"

"No need to use military courtesy, Loren; we're both out of uniform and base. It's nothing much just another rank."

"But look at how you've progressed and those awards..." My jealous tone was partly there.

"They are just ornaments. Come on, the soup's ready or you'll feel weak again."

"Elizabeth..." I began, as she positioned the spoons and bowls as if this was high dining.

"Beth, or Skates as I'm more popularly known."

"Beth, if you're going to care so much about me and this child..."

"Why don't you tell me about your hobbies or interests?"She changed the subject matter. What the? Well, at least no more abound the thing inside me.

"I just always wanted to be the best?"

"Do you watch football, paint, ride horses?" she tore some bread and passed it to me. The vegetable soup was quite saltish for my taste but that was probably due to the side effects of my pregnancy.

"Listen to some music."

"Which genre, artiste?"

"Any," I said, slurping the soup, unlady like. Not that I was a well brought up lady-like at all.

"I love the rock band Toto, have you heard of them?"

"No." I lied as I've done so many times before.

"Ok, do you watch movies? Action, drama, non-fiction?"

"Any." At least the whole wheat bread tasted good. Better than the thin sliced white that I normally bought from the stores.

"There's a nice collection of my own favourties that I brought over; Harm's own doesn't really match my taste."

"I thought you and the Commander..."

"We're very good friends but he's not sure about being close like magnets. And we have different interests."

I wanted to laugh for no reason but ended up coughing part of the stewed vegetables.

"Yeah," Maybe I'm not the odd one out in socialising after all, all though I did literally screwed myself. I saw Beth smile and for once in my life, I sincerely smiled back. The soup finished, I insisted to her on washing up which actually was easier given the high tech gadgets available. Perhaps Commander Rabb wasn't just a top notch lawyer and aviator after all.

"Why don't I let you pick a movie? I'll make some tea that will bring wondrous cures." I wanted to object as I did so many times but just walked over to her DVD collection. Most of them were in French, Italian and even Polish, but the covers stated English subtitles were available. There was once that I caught on TV before, but only half of it so I inserted the disk but stood by the player and screen.

"Loren," I felt a hand on my shoulder. With the part of me that wanted to stand not fighting, I was guided back to the sofa. I started to cross my legs but heard her advice not to do so. Barely giving a nod in return, I accepted the piping hot drink with two hands, less I suddenly drop the mug. Funnily enough, the aroma from the hot liquid in front of me seemed to be enticing. One part of me reminded me that I hated Asian herbal drinks, another part of me told me the taste was just alright, though a little on the salty part.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews, especially to DorothyOz. Looks like it's going to be a three chapter story. Short continuation._

As mentioned, I've watched the first part of the movie before. It was about a female Soviet fighter pilot who wanted to excel like her male counterparts. Set during the Great Patriotic War, it pitched her in numerous aerial dogfights against the Luftwaffe and fights against her male counterparts in the air and on the ground. One such fight became a growing respect for a pilot named Ivan.

I glanced up from the screen and looked at Elizabeth/Skates or as her uniform on the wall stated, Lieutenant Commander Hawkes. She was everything any female in the US Navy could ever be. Rising up the ranks, positive, determined, confident, and well possible be aggressive. I tried to take on those traits, to the extreme but this is where I landed myself. Still a lowly Lieutenant, not given extra responsibilities, nearly charged as conduct unbecoming of an officer, and now a child ballooning inside me despite not being officially engaged, married or even having a boyfriend! But this girl, this Lieutenant Commander who bared knew me appears to be caring for me. "Care", I thought that word had had disappeared ever since I was born into this world. Now, with Elizabeth here, well inside Commander Rabb's apartment, the spirit of care seemed to be...

"Bring! Bring! Bring!" At first I thought it was the old 1940s phone in the movie but the sound was much different. It was the phone in the house ringing. "Oh," I heard Elizabeth say and saw her pause the show. "I'll get it." All of a sudden, it dawned me who could be calling. I sat up and called out, "Beth, if it's Commander Rabb on the line, please, please don't tell him I'm here. Please?"

"Alright, don't worry." She picked up the phone and said in a sort of secretary-like voice said, "Harmon Rabb's residence."

"Oh hi Harm, how's things in La Jolla? How's your mom. That's great news. Yes, things here are fine, I've cleaned up your place, especially your bed room, now don't worry, you'll be able to find your stuff...yes you're guitar has not been touched. Heh, don't worry, I've been busying myself here in DC. Yeah, watching my own DVDs. Yeah, yeah you're collect sucks. ...Ok, Hammer, nice hearing you voice. I'll continue to hold the fort. Yes Sir, Skates out."

If it wasn't the growing fatigue and side effects striking me inside, I would have smiled at the conversation I heard. The usual me wanted to give a smirk with the usual growing jealousy. The new me however told myself to cast away such thoughts and believe in myself. Yeah...Beth had hung up and clicked the movie on again. "Do...you mind if I sit next to you?" It was the first time I ever asked such a question, even to someone of the same sex.

To Be Continued.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hopefully, this last chapter can end with the mystery of the man who impregnated Singer and see a new relationship formed between two minor JAG characters. It may have some incomplete parts towards the end but that due to my hectic schedule. Be warned: A song to be used._

_PS: I'm not sure of the Soviet political officer/_ _commissionaire system._

"Sure, Loren, here," I saw the Lieutenant Commander shifting slightly and propping up one of the pillows. I edged over and looked back at the screen. The female pilot, Irina, increasing faced more and more challenges with her other colleagues and constantly yearned to get a promotion, given the number of Nazi aircraft that she had shot down. With promotion being delayed and her colleagues getting all the accolades, Irina resorts to dirty tricks like sabotaging planes secretly, altering flight schedules and post-mission reports. She also tried to forge closer, almost intimate relationships with her superior officers to gain rapid promotions but that method didn't seem to work. The movie shifted to scene where Irina befriended a political commissionaire and started making sexual advances towards…

I immediately reached forward and stabbed the "stop" button on the remote. "Loren?" I here Beth/Skates voice but didn't see her as tears swelled up in my eyes akin to that of flooding. "Lor…" I started to cry, crying like I never had before in my entire life. Turning to her, I blurted of the whole truth: Who I had sex with, why and how the guy ditched me and told me there was no way I could get any favours from him over the child. As I cried and spelled out my whole secret, the baby must have felt my emotions and started kicking wildly against me. "It sucks!" I wailed. "It really really sucks, Beth! What am I going to do?!"

"Shhh….I'll help you..come on Loren…I'll help, really, I'll stand by you…."

I felt her wipe way the tears in my eyes and looking up at her, "I…"

Suddenly, she placed her left hand over my swelling stomach and with her right drawing my head closer to her shoulder, I hear a melodic voice:

_Oh, why you look so sad?  
Tears are in your eyes  
Come on and come to me now_

_Don't be ashamed to cry  
Let me see you through  
'cause I've seen the dark side too  
When the night falls on you  
You don't know what to do  
Nothing you confess  
Could make me love you less_

_I'll stand by you  
I'll stand by you  
Won't let nobody hurt you  
I'll stand by you_

**Two Years Later, well maybe two and a half...**

I walked up the driveway of towards the beige house nestled in the Maryland suburbs. Its design was really fascinating, something that I always dreamt of buying, but never would be possible in my lifetime. Clutching the envelope so tightly in on hand, I raised my index finger and gently pressed the doorbell. Oh no, did it ring at all? I don't want to press it ag...

The door clicked open and a guy about several inches taller than me appeared. "H..i," I began, "I'm looking for Eliza..."

"Beth? You must be Loren Singer, right? She told me she was expecting you. Do come in, I'm Peter," he replied, extending his hand.

I shook it and stepping out of my shoes, I entered, finding the interior as beautifully decorated as the outside. "Honey? Your friend Loren is here."

"Hi, Loren, great to see you," I spun around and saw the girl I befriended a while back in a blue dress. The bulge below her breasts were all too distinctive...

"Would you like anything to drink? Coffee? Soft drinks?" Her husband offered.

"Water would do, thank you," I said, not wanting to tax these two out of anything more. Beth gestured I followed her into what was certainly the living room.

"Con..gratulations," I began. At least your child is legitimate, I thought softly.

"Thanks, how are you?"

"Ok, I guess." Well, after I gave birth and returned to JAG, it was work as usual.

Her husband brought the drink and mumbling that he should leave girls to talk to themselves, I heard, "Would you like to see Trisha?"

It was like I was soaked with icy cold water. I didn't come for...instead, I folded the Naval Flight Officer up the stairs into a room. Nestled in a bed was the child I gave birth to. Beth had promised to adopt her immediately as soon as she married. This was the first time I actually saw her; I actually closed my eyes through labour and giving birth, refusing to see the newborn at all.

"Wow," I said seeing her nestled in nice pink clothes. "She's a beauty, isn't she? Well, she does erupt into much crying sometimes when awake but other than that she's an angel."

I nodded then asked, "You have never told..." Beth shook her head. It was a pact between us two: Beth never told her husband that the child belonged to me.

"So, uh why exactly did to call to ask for a visit?" Icy water again.

I motioned her out of the girl's room and dragged her into thankfully the bathroom, locking the door. Producing the contents of the envelope, she softly read the headline: "Former National Security Adviser found dead, suicide suspected.." dropping the newspaper article, she reached forward and hugged me again as tears once more filled my eyes.

"I'll stand by you," I heard her whisper.

THE END.


End file.
